Maintaining Peace and Joy Under Authoritarianism

“You’ll never reach your destination if you stop to throw rocks at every dog that barks at you” is an aphorism often attributed to Winston Churchill. I hope nobody reading this is so hounded by critics that they need to heed this advice as it’s usually intended, but if we tweak it just a bit, it becomes advice for us all to follow in these current times. You see, there are so many outrageous things being said and done by the current POTUS, his administration, and his enablers that we would be well-served to consider a variation: “We’ll never successfully resist fascism if we fritter away our energy being outraged at everything there is to be outraged about. Ferocious dog superimposed on Presidential portrait I’m not suggesting we ignore injustice, turn a blind eye toward inhumanity, or normalize authoritarianism. I am suggesting, however, that we risk burning ourselves out, harming our mental health, or otherwise losing our joy when we get caught up in every inane or downright evil...